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UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
Department of Statistics
Mathematics and Statistics
Undergraduate Handbook
2020–21
This handbook applies to students starting the Mathematics and Statistics course inMichaelmas term 2020. The information in this handbook may be different for studentsstaring in other years.
The Examination Regulations relating to this course are available athttps://examregs.admin.ox.ac.uk/
for the Preliminary Examination (Prelims) andhttps://examregs.admin.ox.ac.uk/
for the Final Honour School. If there is a conflict between information in this handbookand the Examination Regulations then you should follow the Examination Regulations.If you have any concerns please contact the Academic Administrator in the Departmentof Statistics ([email protected]).
The information in this handbook is accurate as at October 2020, however it may benecessary for changes to be made in certain circumstances, as explained at https://www.ox.ac.uk/coursechanges. If such changes are made the department will publish a newversion of this handbook together with a list of the changes and students will be informed.
Version 1.0, September 2020.
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Contents
1 Introduction 51.1 Purpose of this handbook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51.2 Other important sources of information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51.3 Contact points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.3.1 Department of Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61.3.2 Mathematical Institute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61.3.3 Mathematics Undergraduate Representation Committee (MURC) . . 7
1.4 Email . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71.5 Your first weeks at Oxford University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71.6 The Department of Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71.7 The Mathematical Institute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2 Mathematics and Statistics 82.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82.2 First year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82.3 Second, Third and Fourth years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82.4 Second year (Part A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82.5 Third year (Part B) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92.6 Fourth year (Part C) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92.7 Choosing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92.8 Three or four years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92.9 Changing course . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3 Teaching and Learning 103.1 The Departments and the Colleges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103.2 An average week . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103.3 Vacations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113.4 Tutorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113.5 Classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113.6 Practicals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123.7 Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4 Assessment and Examinations 124.1 College examinations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124.2 University examinations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124.3 Preparation, entering for University exams, exam timetables . . . . . . . . . 134.4 Procedure for written examinations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144.5 Marking of examinations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144.6 Examination results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144.7 First Public Examination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144.8 Second Public Examination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144.9 Prizes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144.10 Avoiding plagiarism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
5 Study Skills and Resources 16
6 Student representation, evaluation and feedback 166.1 Feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166.2 Student representation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
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7 Student life and support 177.1 Who to contact for help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177.2 Complaints and appeals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187.3 Student societies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187.4 Policies and regulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
8 Facilities 188.1 Social spaces and facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188.2 Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188.3 IT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
A Course aims and intended learning outcomes 20
B Recommended Patterns of Teaching 21
C Complaints and Appeals 24
D Department of Statistics Disability Statement 26
Comments or suggestions for matters which might be amended or which might usefullybe covered in subsequent editions of this handbook would be welcome. They should besent to the Academic Administrator in the Department of Statistics([email protected]).
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1 Introduction
Welcome
Welcome to Oxford and to the Mathematics and Statistics course. We – the members ofthe Department of Statistics – are very pleased to welcome you to Oxford.
The Mathematics and Statistics course combines the strengths of the traditional mathe-matics course with the ability to pursue probability and statistics in depth, and reflectsthe strong demand from employers for graduates with statistical knowledge. You join anexpanding number of researchers, lecturers and graduate students in statistics at Oxford.We hope that, as the course progresses, we can show you the interest and excitement ofstatistics and its applications. We also hope that your enthusiasm for the subject increasesas you develop your talents in this field, and that your education here will equip you wellfor your future, wherever that may be.
We hope you find your time in Oxford enjoyable, challenging and rewarding.
Alison Etheridge (Head of Department) & Neil Laws (Director of Studies)Department of Statistics
1.1 Purpose of this handbook
This handbook provides information about the Mathematics and Statistics course. Thereis also a separate Handbook for the Undergraduate Mathematics Courses which covers theMathematics and Statistics course as well as the single-subject Mathematics course andthe other joint Mathematics courses. This handbook cross references to the Mathematicshandbook where appropriate. Both handbooks are available online:https://www.stats.ox.ac.uk/student-resources/bammath
https://www.maths.ox.ac.uk/members/students/undergraduate-courses/teaching-
and-learning/handbooks-synopses
You are given the handbooks at the beginning of your course and you will be informedof the availability of supplements, including synopses of lecture courses for each year ofyour course. Read in conjunction with the supplements, they explain how the course isstructured, how the course is assessed, and give you information about other resources towhich you have access.
The handbooks also give you some information about how colleges work in relation toyour Mathematics and Statistics course. Your college tutors will give you more detailedinformation about the support provided within the tutorial system. Further informationis also available in the form of College Handbooks on College websites.
1.2 Other important sources of information
Examination Regulations https://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/examregs/
These govern all academic matters within the University and contain the general regula-tions for the conduct of University examinations, as well as specific regulations for eachdegree programme offered by the University.
If any information in the Examination Regulations affecting you is changed you will beinformed. However, there is a convention that the syllabus cannot be changed to yourdisadvantage once you have started studying for the examination concerned, provided youtake your examinations at the normal times.
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Oxford Student Handbook https://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/proctors/handbook
This contains general information and guidance about studying at the University of Ox-ford, and gives you formal notification and explanation of the University’s codes, regula-tions, policies and procedures.
Oxford Students website https://www.ox.ac.uk/students
This provides access to information, services and resources.
Synopses of lecture coursesAt the start of each year the syllabi for the coming year’s examinations are publishedon the course Canvas site together with the synopses of lecture courses. The syllabi arethe content on which examinations may be set; the synopses state the intended contentof lecture courses but lecturers may include extra material enhancing the syllabus butwhich is not examinable. Included with the course synopsis is the course reading list. ForPrelims, a formal syllabus giving the examinable content is published. For Parts A, B andC the syllabi are defined by the synopses. The Prelims syllabi are available athttps://courses.maths.ox.ac.uk/overview/undergraduate#37617
The Parts A, B and C syllabi are available athttps://canvas.ox.ac.uk/courses/67002/pages/year-2-part-a
https://canvas.ox.ac.uk/courses/67002/pages/year-3-part-b
https://canvas.ox.ac.uk/courses/67002/pages/year-4-part-c
where there are also guidance notes about Part C projects.
Lecture ListThis gives the titles, times and places of lectures for courses and is available athttps://www.maths.ox.ac.uk/members/students/lecture-lists
1.3 Contact points
There are a number of people in the department who can help you with any queries orproblems you may have and their contact details are given below. If you are not sure whoto contact please email [email protected]
See also the list of contact emails and useful web addresses in the appendix to the Math-ematics handbook.
1.3.1 Department of Statistics
Director of StudiesDr Neil Laws [email protected]
Academic AdministratorMr Jonathan Whyman [email protected]
Disability Co-ordinatorMr Jonathan Whyman [email protected]
1.3.2 Mathematical Institute
Director of Undergraduate StudiesDr Richard Earl [email protected]
Academic Administrator, Disability Co-ordinatorMs Charlotte Turner-Smith [email protected]
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1.3.3 Mathematics Undergraduate Representation Committee (MURC)
Generalhttps://www.maths.ox.ac.uk/members/students/undergraduate-courses/undergraduate-
representation/murc
This page contains the list of college representatives who you can contact to raise an issuerelated to the teaching of the mathematics and joint schools degrees. Matters can also besent to the MURC chair or the Mathematics and Statistics representative.
President Nathaniel Cleland (St Anne’s College) [email protected]
Mathematics and Statistics representativeRachel Laing (New College) [email protected]
1.4 Email
You will be allocated a college email account. Important information about your coursewill be sent to this account. If you do not plan to access it regularly then you shouldarrange for mail to be forwarded to an account which you do read regularly. You areasked to bear in mind that lost email is your responsibility should you choose to forwardemail to a system outside the University.
1.5 Your first weeks at Oxford University
You may have already read the guide How do Undergraduates do Mathematics? (originallyprepared by Prof Charles Batty with the assistance of Prof Nick Woodhouse, with morerecent updates by Dr Richard Earl, Prof Frances Kirwan and Dr Vicky Neale). If not, youare strongly recommended to read it as part of the induction to your course. It is availableat https://www.maths.ox.ac.uk/system/files/attachments/study_public_0.pdf
The Mathematics Department induction session is held at 2pm on Friday Week 0 in theMathematical Institute, lecture theatre 1, at which you will be given important documen-tation for your course. The corresponding Statistics Department induction session is heldat 3.15 pm on Friday Week 0 in the Department of Statistics lecture theatre.
Further useful information can be found athttps://www.maths.ox.ac.uk/members/students/undergraduate-courses/teaching-
and-learning/prelims-students
The mathematics students have also developed a useful Guide to Freshers and website(https://www.maths.ox.ac.uk/members/students/undergraduate-courses/undergraduate-representation/murc). You may find it helpful to read their briefer more informal viewon what you need to know at the beginning of your course.
1.6 The Department of Statistics
The Department of Statistics has about 30 lecturers/professors, 20 postdoctoral researchersand 100 research students. The Department is a world leader in research including compu-tational statistics and statistical methodology, probability, statistical genetics and bioin-formatics. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF), Oxford’s MathematicalSciences submission was ranked overall best in the UK.
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1.7 The Mathematical Institute
The Mathematical Institute, on Woodstock Road, is a focus for mathematical activity inOxford. All of your lectures in your first year will take place in the Institute.
2 Mathematics and Statistics
2.1 Overview
The University offers two courses in Mathematics and Statistics:
MMath Mathematics & Statistics 4-yearBA Mathematics & Statistics 3-year
The Master of Mathematics (MMath) in Mathematics and Statistics and the Bachelorof Arts (BA) in Mathematics and Statistics may be compared to national standards forhigher education qualifications through the Framework for Higher Education Qualifica-tions (FHEQ). The University awards framework (UAF) maps the awards of the Univer-sity against the levels of the FHEQ. The FHEQ level for the MMath is 7 and for the BAis 6. The relevant subject benchmark statement for the course, which sets out expecta-tions about standards of degrees in a given subject area, is Mathematics, Statistics andOperational Research (QAA 2015).
The aims of the courses and the intended learning outcomes are listed in Appendix A.
2.2 First year
The first year of the Mathematics and Statistics course is identical to the single sub-ject Mathematics course. The first year examination is the Preliminary Examination inMathematics, there is not a separate examination for Mathematics and Statistics. TheMathematics handbook (see 1.1) gives full details, including a list of important dates.
2.3 Second, Third and Fourth years
Many options are available in the second, third and fourth years. These vary a little fromyear to year depending on faculty interests and current research interests. The list ofcourses currently being taught can be found in the relevant course synopses available athttps://canvas.ox.ac.uk/courses/67002
You will receive information on the options available to you, year by year, when it becomesavailable.
Section 3.7 of the Mathematics handbook (see 1.1) gives further information on the issuesin Sections 2.7–2.9 of this handbook.
2.4 Second year (Part A)
The second year consists of compulsory core material on
• Linear Algebra
• Differential Equations 1
• Metric Spaces and Complex Analysis
• Probability
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• Statistics
plus long options on Rings and Modules, Integration, Topology, Differential Equations 2,Numerical Analysis, Fluids and Waves, Quantum Theory, Simulation and Statistical Pro-gramming,
plus short options on Number Theory, Group Theory, Projective Geometry, Introductionto Manifolds, Integral Transforms, Calculus of Variations, Graph Theory, Special Relativ-ity, and Modelling in Mathematical Biology.
The core material is arranged as follows: Linear Algebra, Differential Equations 1, MetricSpaces and Complex Analysis, and Probability are in Michaelmas Term; Statistics is inHilary Term. The long options are in Hilary Term, except Quantum Theory which is inMichaelmas Term. The short options are in the first half of Trinity Term.
All students must offer 9 examination papers, and students may opt to offer an additionalpaper from the long options (making 10 papers in total) if they wish. Students consideringtaking an additional long option are advised to discuss this with their college tutors. The9 or 10 papers offered must include the 5 papers on the core subjects and the paper onthe short options, plus 3 or 4 papers on the long options.
2.5 Third year (Part B)
You will take the equivalent of eight 16-hour units in the third year from the schedule ofPart B units. In Part B, all students must take the double-unit on applied and computa-tional statistics. You must also take two units (and you may take more) from the statisticsunits labelled SB2 and SB3.
2.6 Fourth year (Part C)
If you continue to the fourth year you will be jointly taught with the OMMS (MSc inMathematical Sciences) students. You will take the equivalent of a minimum of eight upto a maximum of ten 16-hour units in the fourth year from the schedule of Part C units.Two of these units must be a dissertation on a statistics project, and two further unitsmust be from the schedule of statistics units for Part C. (Here statistics is understood ina broad sense, so includes probability, etc.)
2.7 Choosing options
When choosing options your college tutors will be able to give you advice. There areOptions Fairs run in the Mathematical Institute in Trinity term – of your second yearfor Part B and of your third year for Part C – where representatives from the differentsubject groups (across mathematics and statistics) will discuss the individual options andbe available to answer any questions you may have.
There is also a Statistics Department Options session in Michaelmas Term of the secondyear.
2.8 Three or four years
The choice of which degree you take will depend on your interests and aptitudes, yourperformance in the first three years and your career intentions. You should discuss yourdecision with your college tutors, who will be able to advise you on which course is moreappropriate for you.
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You will need to achieve overall a 2.1 or better in your second and third yearexams and a weighted average of 59.5 or above for your third year exams toprogress to Part C.
2.9 Changing course
Normally your college will have admitted you to study a specific course. Therefore youwould need permission to change to another course. The structure of the Mathematicsand Statistics course, particularly having the same first year as Mathematics, means thatchanging between from Mathematics to Mathematics and Statistics (or vice versa) is apossibility. Again, your College Tutor will be able to give you advice. Typically a numberof students change from Mathematics to Mathematics and Statistics during the secondyear, changing later than this is also possible.
3 Teaching and Learning
3.1 The Departments and the Colleges
Oxford University is a collegiate university. All undergraduates are members both of acollege and the University. Courses, syllabi, lectures, and examinations are organised anddelivered by the University. Colleges are responsible for making undergraduate admissionsto the University. They deliver tutorial and class teaching, and are generally responsible forthe academic and personal well-being of their students. See Section 4 of the Mathematicshandbook for a fuller description of the role of colleges.
The Mathematical Institute and the Statistics Department contain lecture theatres andseminar rooms in which lectures and intercollegiate classes are given. Problem sheets maybe downloaded from the departments’ websites, also some lecture notes. Most mattersconcerned with the administration of the courses are dealt with in the departments – forexample the production of synopses, lecture timetables and lecture notes. If you have anycomments relating to departmental provision, please contact the Academic Administratorin the first instance.
If you have any issues with teaching or supervision please raise these as soon as possi-ble so that they can be addressed promptly. Details of who to contact are provided inAppendix C.
3.2 An average week
Students are responsible for their own academic progress. Typically your tutors willbe expecting you to work around 40 hours per week during term time. This mayvary a little from week-to-week, depending on how you are finding the material. Alsomany of these hours are flexitime, meaning that you will be free to follow other pursuitsproviding that you put the hours in elsewhere during the week. You are advised to read theUniversity’s guidance on undertaking paid work at https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/
life/experience.
Of these 40 or so hours, around 10 will be lectures, and around 2–3 will be on tutorials orclasses. This means that there is a good deal of time (25+ hours) that is unassigned, tobe filled by your own independent study. A table setting out the recommended patternsof teaching for each year of the course is included in appendix B.
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You should seek advice from your tutor if you find it impossible to complete your academicwork without spending significantly longer than 48 hours per week on a regular basis.
It is important that you quickly get into a mode of learning that suits you. Please readSection 4 of the Mathematics handbook which gives advice on how to study, how to get thebest out of lectures, the use of problem sheets and problem solving – that advice appliesequally to Mathematics and Statistics students.
In summary, the main ingredient for success in mathematics/statistics at university iscommitted independent study. It is the breaking down of subtle analytical problemsyourself, the appreciation of how method and theory connect, the necessary organisationand perseverance that the course requires, which ultimately make our students successfulacademics or sought-after employees more widely.
3.3 Vacations
You should expect to spend some time in the vacations consolidating and revising thematerial covered in the preceding term. You may also have one or two problem sheetsto complete during the vacation or some pre-reading or work in preparation for the nextterm. In some vacations you will need to revise for examinations (which may be collegecollections or University examinations).
3.4 Tutorials
To support lectures in the first and second years, colleges arrange tutorials and classesfor their students. How these are organised will vary from college to college and subjectto subject. For example, in your first and second years you might have two (one-hour)tutorials each week, with between one or two other students. Consequently it is a highlyindividual and flexible way of teaching and tutorial groups are usually arranged to includestudents that work well together and, perhaps, who are progressing academically at aboutthe same rate.
You will be set some work for each tutorial and in the tutorial you will discuss the workand be able to ask about any difficulties you have experienced. In order to get the bestout of a tutorial, it is important that you are well prepared and also that you see thetutorial as an opportunity to get resolved all the problems that you have encountered thatweek – to that end you may well want to make a list during the week of queries to beraised in the tutorial. A tutorial is, after all, a hour with an expert in that area. Yourtutor is unlikely to give up the answer to your question immediately and may respondwith hints or questions of his/her own to that end – but this is all towards improving yourunderstanding of the material and showing you how you might have made further progresswith the problem yourself.
The exception to the above is the Part A long option on Simulation and StatisticalProgramming: the workload of this option is equivalent to that of other long options,though the teaching is an integrated programme of lectures, practical sessions and prob-lems classes.
3.5 Classes
Each 16-hour lecture unit in Parts B and C is supported by classes run under the Intercol-legiate Class Scheme. Students generally attend four 11
2 -hour classes (or the equivalent)for each Part B or C unit.
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Each class will usually consist of between five and twelve students from a number ofdifferent colleges and is run by a class tutor and a teaching assistant. The course lecturerprovides suitable problem sheets, and also provides specimen solutions for the class tutorsand teaching assistants. Students hand in their solutions in advance and these are markedby the teaching assistants; at each class, some of the problems are discussed in detail, andthere is an opportunity to ask the class tutor and teaching assistant about any particulardifficulties. The class tutors report to colleges through the intercollegiate class databaseon your performance throughout the term. If you are ill and unable to attend the classplease inform the Class Tutor in advance of the class.
Consultation sessions to help with revision are run during Trinity term.
3.6 Practicals
For some of the units there is a component of compulsory practical work, e.g. Computa-tional Mathematics in the first year, Applied and Computational Statistics in the thirdyear. Arrangements will be explained by the course lecturer; your college tutor will alsoadvise. Those who run the practical sessions will also give advice on how the work is tobe written-up.
3.7 Project
There are many things to be gained from doing a statistics project, which is why all fourthyear students must do a statistics project and write a dissertation on it. In terms of yourstatistical education, a project is an opportunity to do a substantial and sustained piece ofstatistical work (and, for example, to develop further the skills learned in doing the thirdyear applied statistics practical work). In addition, the general skills of organising materialand explaining it are important to learn, and we also recognise that some students mightshow their abilities better in doing a project than on an examination paper.
4 Assessment and Examinations
4.1 College examinations
The tutorial, as well as a medium of instruction, is a personally tailored form of continuous,formative assessment, and both you and your tutor should have a good idea of how yourstudies are progressing. College tutors will also organise college examinations, calledcollections, usually at the start of term. These are not to be confused with the University’spublic examinations which count towards you for your degree classification(s); rather theyare an opportunity to check on how you are progressing academically and provide youwith feedback to allow you to identify misunderstandings you may have with the materialand improve your examination technique.
4.2 University examinations
You will sit examinations each year in Trinity term, called public examinations. Theregulations governing these are set out in the University Examination Regulations (seeSection 1.2) and guidance for students is given in the Examination Conventions which arepublished on online athttps://www.maths.ox.ac.uk/members/students/undergraduate-courses/examinations-
assessments/examination-conventions
for Prelims and on Canvas at
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https://canvas.ox.ac.uk/courses/67002/modules#module_155234
for Parts A, B and C.
The definitive version of the conventions is made available online/Canvas each October.Modifications must be published to prospective candidates not less than one whole termbefore the examination takes place. Examination conventions are the formal record ofthe specific assessment standards for the course or courses to which they apply. They setout how your examined work will be marked and how the resulting marks will be usedto arrive at a final result and classification of you award. They include information on:marking scales, marking and classification criteria, scaling of marks, progression, resits,use of viva voce examinations, penalties for late submission, and penalties for over-lengthwork.
For each examination (Prelims, Part A, Part B and Part C) the departments nominatea board of examiners, which is made up of internal examiners and, for the second publicexaminations, external examiners (academics from another university). Assessors mayalso be appointed to assist the examiners. Formally, the examiners are independent of thedepartments and of those who lecture courses. However, for written papers in mathematicsand statistics, the examiners are expected to consult with course lecturers in the process ofsetting questions. It must be stressed that to preserve the independence of the examiners,students are strictly prohibited from contacting examiners directly about matters relatingto the content or marking of papers. If you are unhappy with an aspect of your assessmentyou may make a complaint or appeal (see Section 7.2). The names of all examiners canbe found in the relevant Examination Conventions.
General information on University examinations can be found on the Examinations andAssessment section of the University website https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/exams/.
4.3 Preparation, entering for University exams, exam timetables
Your tutors will advise you about revision and practice. As well as any consolidation workdone after the end of term, it is usual to spend much of Trinity term revising work forthe coming examinations. The departments hold examination forums to provide adviceon revision techniques and give further details about the format of the examinations.
In subjects which were taught in previous years, past examination papers are anothergood guide to the typical format and content of examination question. Past papers canbe accessed online at https://weblearn.ox.ac.uk/portal/hierarchy/oxam. However,please note that previous papers may have been set on different syllabi and you will needto be guided to relevant questions by your tutors. Students will find past papers mostvaluable when used in conjunction with corresponding examiners’ reports which are postedonline at https://www.maths.ox.ac.uk/members/students/undergraduate-courses/
examinations-assessments/examiners-reports and https://www.stats.ox.ac.uk/
student-resources/bammath/examinations (via WebLearn). Examiners’ reports willinclude generic feedback on the cohort performance and may highlight common difficul-ties or mistakes made in the examinations.
The departments also runs consultation sessions for Part B and C students each Trinityterm to help with revision. Details of sessions will be made available each Trinity term.Further advice on preparing for examinations and requesting alternative arrangements canbe found on the University’s website at https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/
exams.
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The Mathematics handbook (see 1.1) contains some advice about revision and exam tech-nique, as well as information about entering for examinations and examination timetables.
4.4 Procedure for written examinations
Before the examinations you will receive at least one Notice to candidates from the exam-iners to give you the details of the examination procedure. These notices are also publishedonline:http://www.maths.ox.ac.uk/members/students/undergraduate-courses/examinations-
assessments/examination-conventions
and on Canvas https://canvas.ox.ac.uk/courses/67002/modules#module_155234.
No books or tables may be taken into the examination room. Calculators are not nor-mally permitted and you should follow instructions in notices sent to you by the Chair ofExaminers regarding calculators.
Information on (a) the standards of conduct expected in examinations and (b) what todo if you would like examiners to be aware of any factors that may have affected yourperformance before or during an examination (such as illness, accident or bereavement) areavailable on the Oxford Students website https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/
exams/guidance
4.5 Marking of examinations
Details of how mathematics and statistics examinations are marked, including qualitativeclass descriptors, can be found in the Examination Conventions (see 4.2).
4.6 Examination results
You will be able to access your results via the Student Self Service (https://evision.ox.ac.uk). The Academic and Assessment Results page within Student Self Service givesdetails of all your assessment results (examination papers and/or submissions) and theoverall result for the year (if applicable).
4.7 First Public Examination
At the end of the third term of the first year you will sit the Preliminary Examination inMathematics, which you need to pass in order to proceed to Part A. The Mathematicshandbook (see 1.1) gives full details.
4.8 Second Public Examination
For information on the Part A, B and C examinations please see the examination conven-tions.
4.9 Prizes
The following prizes are available for undergraduate students. These are awarded by theExaminers, no application is necessary. A list of previous winners is available online:https://www.stats.ox.ac.uk/student-resources/bammath/examinations/undergraduate-
prizes
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Mathematics and Statistics candidates are eligible for the prizes for the Preliminary Ex-amination in Mathematics, and for the Mathematics Gibbs Prizes in Parts A and B. Inaddition, the separate prizes for Mathematics and Statistics are:
Part A Department of Statistics PrizePart B Department of Statistics PrizePart C overall Gibbs PrizePart C dissertation Gibbs Prize
4.10 Avoiding plagiarism
The following information applies to all aspects of assessment during the course.
Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s work or ideas as your own, with or without theirconsent, by incorporating it into your work without full acknowledgement. All publishedand unpublished material, whether in manuscript, printed or electronic form, is coveredunder this definition. Plagiarism may be intentional or reckless, or unintentional. Underthe regulations for examinations, intentional or reckless plagiarism is a disciplinary offence.
See https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/guidance/skills/plagiarism
Subject specific advice
It is worth highlighting three places where plagiarism could occur and where you shouldbe particularly careful to avoid it:
• in Part B assessed practical assignments
• in Part C dissertations
• in Part C mini-projects.
As some issues about practicals are different from some issues about dissertations, and asthese are in the 3rd and 4th years of the course, you will be issued with more detailedguidance about practicals and dissertations separately. But some important general pointsare relevant to mention here:
• The practical work or dissertation or mini-project that you hand in must be yourown.
• Do not copy any other person’s practical report (and do not allow your own workto be copied). Although you may discuss the practicals with other students duringpractical classes for example, the report you hand in must be all your own work.
• You will need to sign a statement confirming that the work you have handed in isall your own.
• You must not copy chunks of text from lecture notes, books, websites, etc, unlessunless you clearly acknowledge and adequately reference what you have used. Forexample in a practical you need to give your own explanation of what you havefound, not somebody else’s.
• Throughout a dissertation, you must make sure that other people’s work is ade-quately referenced.
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5 Study Skills and Resources
Please read Section 6 of the Mathematics handbook (see 1.1) which gives guidance and ad-vice about study skills and resources to all mathematics students, including those studyingMathematics and Statistics.
Additional information relevant to Mathematics and Statistics students:
Disability Related Study Support. Specialised advice and assistance is available fromthe Disability Advisory Service: https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/welfare/disabilityIf you experience difficulties with your course because of a disability then you should dis-cuss this with your college tutors. Please also see the disability statements of the Math-ematical Institute (in the Mathematics handbook) and of the Department of Statistics(Appendix D).
Department of Statistics. The department contains two lecture rooms (one large, onesmall), a large IT teaching lab, and several smaller seminar/meeting rooms. The largesocial area on the ground floor includes a kitchen and lots of tables, chairs and sofas.
Careers and Employability. In addition to the careers information in the Mathemat-ics handbook, it is worth mentioning here that representatives from the Careers Service(http://www.careers.ox.ac.uk/) regularly give short presentations at some departmen-tal induction sessions at the start of the academic year.
6 Student representation, evaluation and feedback
6.1 Feedback
There is plenty of opportunity, both formal and informal, for you to comment on thecourse. The informal ways are through the members of the Faculty who teach you inclasses, lectures and tutorials, and also through your personal tutors in college. Feedbackis formally sought through surveys conducted by the Mathematical Institute, Departmentof Statistics and the University, and also the National Student Survey. All input fromundergraduates about the course content, structure and facilities generally is welcomed bythe department and taken seriously.
Written questionnaires are handed out by each lecturer, who will give time during a lec-ture for their completion. A similar monitoring of the intercollegiate classes takes placetermly. The questionnaires can also be completed online at http://www.maths.ox.ac.uk/members/students/undergraduate-courses/undergraduate-representation/questionnaires.
Once the termly questionnaire results are processed, each course lecturer receives thecomments and statistical analysis from their own course and in addition consolidated in-formation is made available to relevant committees for discussion, and where necessary,action. One of the key committees to consider this information is the Joint ConsultativeCommittee for Undergraduates (JCCU). The statistical feedback from the questionnairesis sent to a designated undergraduate member of the Mathematics Undergraduate Rep-resentation Committee for consideration by MURC and a report brought to JCCU. Anyaction taken as a result of questionnaire comments is made known to your MURC repre-sentatives through JCCU.
Students on full-time and part-time matriculated courses are surveyed once per year onall aspects of their course (learning, living, pastoral support, college) through the Student
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Barometer. Previous results can be viewed by students, staff and the general public at:https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/life/student-engagement.
Final year undergraduate students are surveyed instead through the National StudentSurvey. Results from previous NSS can be found at https://www.unistats.com/.
The results of both these surveys are discussed by the Teaching Committee and appropriateaction agreed as necessary.
Most colleges have procedures in place for consultation, monitoring, and feedback. Yoursubject or personal tutors will be able to advise you on this.
6.2 Student representation
All of the following are described in detail in the Mathematics handbook, please seeSection 7 of that handbook.
• The Mathematics Undergraduate Representative Committee (known as ‘MURC’) isa student body representing the interests of mathematics and joint school students.MURC has a designated Mathematics and Statistics rep.
• The Joint Consultative Committee with Undergraduates (JCCU) meets regularlyonce a term and discusses any matters that the MURC representatives wish to raise;in addition, it considers matters relating to the synopses and proposed changes ofsyllabus, and as mentioned above the statistical feedback from questionnaires. Themembership consists of members of MURC appointed by MURC and representativesof the departments of Mathematics and of Statistics.
• The MPLS Division runs a divisional Undergraduate Joint Consultative Forum(UJCF) which is chaired by the senior MPLS academic who is responsible for thatarea across the division. An undergraduate representative from each departmentwithin the MPLS Division attends the forum. In addition, an undergraduate rep-resentative attends the meetings of the Divisional Board and the MPLS AcademicCommittee.
• Undergraduate representation at University (as opposed to subject or college) levelis coordinated through the Oxford University Student Union (Oxford SU). Studentrepresentatives sitting on the Divisional Board are selected through a process or-ganised by Oxford SU. Details can be found on the Oxford SU website along withinformation about student representation at the University level.
• The MURC Mathematics and Statistics representative is invited to attend meetingsof the Statistics Teaching Committee.
7 Student life and support
7.1 Who to contact for help
It is not unusual for students to experience a difficulty of one kind or another. There area number of people that are ready and willing to help you. Often the best advice is to goand talk to your College Tutor in the first instance.
Every college has their own systems of support for students, please refer to your Collegehandbook or website for more information on who to contact and what support is availablethrough your college.
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Details of the wide range of sources of support are available more widely in the Univer-sity are available from the Oxford Students website (https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/welfare), including in relation to mental and physical health and disability.
7.2 Complaints and appeals
In the rare case of a student wishing to make an appeal against an examination result,the appeal is made on their behalf by their college to the Proctors. Students should alsobe aware that they have the right to take certain other matters directly to the Proctors.
See Appendix C for the formal procedure for complaints and appeals within the Depart-ment of Statistics, and see the Mathematics handbook for the corresponding informationfor the Mathematical Institute.
7.3 Student societies
There are over 200 clubs and societies covering a wide range of interests which you canjoin or attend, see https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/life/clubs/list. See also theMathematics handbook for details of two mathematics societies, the Invariants Societyand the Mirzakhani Society.
7.4 Policies and regulations
The University has a wide range of policies and regulations that apply to students. Theseare easily accessible through the A-Z of University regulations, codes of conduct andpolicies available on the Oxford Students website https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/
academic/regulations/a-z.
In particular your attention is drawn to the University’s policy on Recording of lecturesand other teaching sessions by students which is available on that page.
8 Facilities
8.1 Social spaces and facilities
The Department of Statistics has a large social space on the ground floor with a kitchenarea. For information about the Mathematical Institute, see the Mathematics handbook.
8.2 Libraries
The main source of borrowed books is your college library. College libraries generallypurchase the books which appear in the reading lists for every Prelims, Part A and Part Bcourse, and many Part C courses. In practice, college libraries also provide a good selectionof the books listed as ‘further reading’, and, indeed, a wider selection of background andalternative reading, some of which have gone out of print.
Many college libraries have a number of copies of key books and are usually responsive torequests for new purchases, but they need to be asked. The colleges have various mecha-nisms for these requests, your college tutor will be able to advise you.
The other source of books to borrow is the Radcliffe Science Library in Parks Road. Thislibrary is associated with the Bodleian and as an undergraduate you are entitled to use it.
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Mathematics and Statistics students are welcome to use the Statistics departmental libraryin connection with their Part C project.
8.3 IT
All students will be automatically allocated a University email account and may registerfor further services with IT Services (https://www.it.ox.ac.uk/).
See the Mathematics handbook for a description of IT in connection with your mathemat-ics courses.
During your second year you can take a long option on Simulation and Statistical Pro-gramming. This will be taught in the Department of Statistics’ IT teaching lab, usingdepartmental computers. There will be similar arrangements for statistics practicals inlater years of the course.
Mathematics and Statistics students are welcome to apply for a departmental computeraccount should they need one in connection with their Part C project.
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Appendices
A Course aims and intended learning outcomes
The educational aims of the programme are:
• To provide a course of high academic quality in Mathematics and Statistics in achallenging and supportive learning environment that encourages students to reachtheir full potential, personally and academically.
• To provide students with a broad, balanced knowledge of Mathematics and Statisticsand an appreciation of their applications.
• To provide a course that is suitable both for students aiming to pursue researchand for students going into other careers, in particular careers requiring numeracy,together with modelling and problem-solving abilities.
• For students taking the 4-year MMath, to provide foundations for graduate studyfor a research degree at a leading university either in the UK or overseas.
The intended learning outcomes are that students will develop a knowledge and under-standing of:
• The core areas of Mathematics and Statistics, the basic ideas of mathematical andstatistical modelling, and some of their principal areas of application.
• The correct use of mathematical language and formalism in mathematical thinkingand logical processes.
• Some of the processes and pitfalls of mathematical approximation.
• Techniques of manipulation and computer-aided numerical calculation.
• The basic ideas of a variety of areas of specialisation.
• Statistical inference and the application of statistical methods.
• Several specialised areas of Mathematics and Statistics or their applications, theprincipal results in these areas, how they relate to real-world problems and to prob-lems within Mathematics and Statistics.
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B Recommended Patterns of Teaching
Part: Prelims (Year 1)
Course structure: there are 14 compulsory courses plus two introductory courses. Stu-dents also complete a compulsory practical course in computational mathematics.
Paper Term Dept College Comments
Lec
ture
s
Cla
sses
Tu
tori
als
Cla
sses
Introduction to University MT 8 2 Weeks 1–2Mathematics (MI)
Introduction to Complex MT 2 0 Week 1 onlyNumbers (MII)
Linear Algebra I (MI) MT 14 4
Analysis I (MII) MT 15 4
Introductory Calculus (MIII) MT 16 4
Probability (MIII) MT 16 4 Lectured by Dept. of Statistics.
Geometry (MIV) MT 15 4
Computational Mathematics MT 2 6 The practical classes take place in weeks 3–8,and each student will attend a two-hoursession fortnightly.
HT 2 2 The practical classes take place in weeks 1–2,and each student will attend one two-hoursession. Drop-in sessions are held in weeks3–8 and students may attend any of these towork on their projects.
Linear Algebra II (MI) HT 8 2
Groups and Group Actions (MI) HT 8 2TT 8 2
Analysis II (MII) HT 16 4
Dynamics (MIV) HT 16 4
Multivariable Calculus (MV) HT 16 4
Fourier Series and PDEs (MV) HT 16 4
Analysis III (MII) TT 8 2
Statistics and Data Analysis (MIII) TT 16 4 Lectured by Dept. of Statistics.
Constructive Mathematics (MIV) TT 8 2
Notes:All first year lecture courses are supported by tutorials organised by colleges. The normal expectationis that a 16-hour lecture course is supported by 4 one-hour tutorials or the equivalent in small classes.It may be the case that a tutorial or class addresses several lecture courses, rather than being solelydedicated to a single lecture course.
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Part: Part A (Year 2)
Course structure: there are 6 compulsory core courses (A0–A2, A8, A9 and ASO), 7long options courses (A3–A7, A10–A12) from which students choose 3 or 4. There are 9short options (ASO) from which students usually study 3 courses.
Paper Term Dept College Comments
Lec
ture
s
Cla
sses
Tu
tori
als
Cla
sses
A0 Linear Algebra MT 16 4
A1 Differential Equations 1 MT 16 4
A2 Metric Spaces and MT 32 8Complex Analysis
A3 Rings and Modules HT 16 4
A4 Integration HT 16 4
A5 Topology HT 16 4
A6 Differential Equations 2 HT 16 4
A7 Numerical Analysis HT 16 4
A8 Probability MT 16 4 Lectured by Dept. of Statistics.
A9 Statistics HT 16 4 Lectured by Dept. of Statistics.
A10 Fluids and Waves HT 16 4
A11 Quantum Theory HT 16 4
A12 Simulation and Statistical Programming HT 14 2 In addition to the lecturers studentsattend 6 practical sessions. Theworkload of this course is equivalentto a 16 hour lecture course.
ASO Number Theory TT 8 2 Weeks 1–3
ASO Group Theory TT 8 2 Weeks 1–3
ASO Projective Geometry TT 8 2 Weeks 1–3
ASO Introduction to Manifolds TT 8 2 Weeks 1–3
ASO Integral Transforms HT 8 2
ASO Calculus of Variations TT 8 2 Weeks 1–3
ASO Graph Theory TT 8 2 Weeks 1–3
ASO Special Relativity TT 8 2 Weeks 1–3
ASO Mathematical Modelling in Biology TT 8 2 Weeks 1–3
Notes:All second year lecture courses are supported by tutorials organised by colleges. The normal expectationis that a 16-hour lecture course is supported by 4 one-hour tutorials or the equivalent in small classes.
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Part: Part B (Year 3)
Course structure: students take the equivalent of 8 units at Part B. The schedule ofPart B units. Students must offer the double unit SB1 and a total of at least two unitsfrom SB2 and SB3. Students may offer a total of at most 2 units from the schedule ofother units.
Paper Term Dept College Comments
Lec
ture
s
Cla
sses
Tu
tori
als
Cla
sses
Statistics Units
SB1 Applied and MT 13 4 Taught by Dept. of Statistics. In additionComputational Statistics ? to the classes, students attend 4.5 hours
of practical sessions.HT 13 4 In addition to the classes, students attend 3
hours of practical sessions.
SB2.1, SB2.2, SB3.2 MT/HT 16 6
SB3.1 Applied Probability MT 16 6
Mathematics Units
B1.1–B8.5 MT/HT 16 6
BEE Mathematical MT/HT 2 6 The balance of tutorials between MT andExtended Essay ? HT is agreed between the student and
supervisor.
BSP Structure Projects ? MT/HT 1 6 The balance of tutorials between MT andHT is agreed between the student andsupervisor.
Other Units
BN1.1 Mathematics Education MT 16 4 Taught in conjunction with the Dept.of Education.
BN1.2 Undergraduate HT 4 4 Taught in conjunction with the Dept. ofAmbassadors Scheme Education. Students are on placement in
a school for 0.5 days per week. Lectures aredelivered via a vodcast.
Notes:In Part B, intercollegiate classes are arranged in place of college tutorials for the Mathematics andStatistics lecture courses. For some lecture courses, there may not be sufficient studentsto run an intercollegiate classes and tutorials will be arranged instead. It is recommended that 4hours of tutorials are provided for a 16 hour lecture course. Colleges may decide to opt out of theintercollegiate class scheme and teach their students in tutorials for a particular course.In addition to the classes, drop-in consultation sessions are arranged in Trinity term by way of revisionfor those lecture courses assessed by written examination. Please note that courses marked witha ? are double units.
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Part: Part C (Year 4)
Course structure: students take the equivalent of 6 units and a dissertation on a statis-tics project. Note that the dissertation is the equivalent of 2 units, so Part C is theequivalent of 8 units in total (6 from lecture courses, 2 from dissertation)
Paper Term Dept College Comments
Lec
ture
s
Cla
sses
Tu
tori
als
Cla
sses
Statistics Units
SC1–SC10 MT/HT 16 6
Probabilistic Combinatorics (C8.4) HT 16 6 Taught by the Dept. of Mathematics
Dissertation on a statistics project ? MT/HT 6 The balance of tutorials between MT andHT is agreed between the student andsupervisor.
Mathematics Units
C1.1–C8.3 MT/HT 16 6
Notes:In Part C, intercollegiate classes are arranged in place of college tutorials for the Mathematics andStatistics lecture courses. For some lecture courses, there may not be sufficient students to run anintercollegiate classes and tutorials will be arranged instead. It is recommended that 4 hours of tutorialsare provided for a 16 hour lecture course. Colleges may decide to opt out of the intercollegiate classscheme and teach their students in tutorials for a particular course.In addition to the classes, drop-in consultation sessions are arranged in Trinity term by way of revisionfor those lecture courses assessed by written examination. Please note that courses marked witha ? are double units.
Please note that in the case of teaching provided by colleges, these figures are the depart-mental recommendations only and individual colleges may provide different amounts oftypes of teaching than those stated above for a variety of reasons (e.g. individual studentneeds or differing number of contact hours depending on tutorial group size).
C Complaints and Appeals
Complaints and academic appeals within the Department of Statistics
The University, the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division and the Departmentof Statistics all hope that provision made for students at all stages of their course of studywill make the need for complaints (about that provision) or appeals (against the outcomesof any form of assessment) infrequent.
Nothing in the University’s complaints procedure precludes an informal discussion withthe person immediately responsible for the issue that you wish to complain about (andwho may not be one of the individuals identified below). This is often the simplest wayto achieve a satisfactory resolution.
Many sources of advice are available within colleges, within departments and from bodieslike Student Advice Service provided by Oxford SU or the Counselling Service, which have
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extensive experience in advising students. You may wish to take advice from one of thesesources before pursuing your complaint.
General areas of concern about provision affecting students as a whole should be raisedthrough Joint Consultative Committees with Undergraduates or via student representationon the department’s committees.
Complaints
If your concern or complaint relates to teaching or other provision made by the department,then you should raise it with the Chair of the Teaching Committee (Dr Neil Laws). Withinthe department the officer concerned will attempt to resolve your concern/complaint in-formally.
If you are dissatisfied with the outcome, then you may take your concern further by makinga formal complaint to the University Proctors. The procedures adopted by the Proctorsfor the consideration of complaints and appeals are described on the Proctors’ webpage(https://academic.web.ox.ac.uk/complaints),the Student Handbook (https://www.proctors.ox.ac.uk/handbook/handbook) and therelevant Council regulations (https://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/statutes/regulations/247-062.shtml).
If your concern or complaint relates to teaching or other provision made by your college,you should raise it either with your tutor or with one of the college officers, Senior Tutor,Tutor for Graduates (as appropriate). Your college will also be able to explain how totake your complaint further if you are dissatisfied with the outcome of its consideration.
Academic appeals
An academic appeal is defined as a formal questioning of a decision on an academic mattermade by the responsible academic body.
For undergraduate or taught graduate courses, a concern which might lead to an appealshould be raised with your college authorities and the individual responsible for overseeingyour work. It must not be raised directly with examiners or assessors. If it is not possibleto clear up your concern in this way, you may put your concern in writing and submit itto the Proctors via the Senior Tutor of your college.
As noted above, the procedures adopted by the Proctors in relation to complaints andappeals are described on the Proctors’ webpage(https://academic.web.ox.ac.uk/academic-appeals-0),the Student Handbook (https://www.proctors.ox.ac.uk/handbook/handbook)and the relevant Council regulations (https://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/statutes/regulations/247-062.shtml).
Please remember in connection with all the academic appeals that:
• The Proctors are not empowered to challenge the academic judgement of examinersor academic bodies.
• The Proctors can consider whether the procedures for reaching an academic decisionwere properly followed; i.e. whether there was a significant procedural administrativeerror; whether there is evidence of bias or inadequate assessment; whether the exam-iners failed to take into account special factors affecting a candidate’s performance.
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• On no account should you contact your examiners or assessors directly.
D Department of Statistics Disability Statement
The Department will do everything within its power to make available its teaching andother resources to students and others with disabilities to ensure that they are not at adisadvantage. In some cases, this may require significant adjustments to the building andto teaching methods. Those with disabilities are encouraged to discuss their needs withthe Disability Coordinator, Mr Jonathan Whyman[tel: 01865 (2)72870, email [email protected]].
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